Fun Facts about Uranus – The seventh planet

Being the seventh planet from the Sun, Uranus will not be visible to the naked eye anymore. As a matter of fact, it was the very first planet that has been discovered with the aid of a telescope. Needless to say, Uranus has been tipped over its side. It measures 98 degrees axial tilt. This is described as rolling around the side with its side because literally, it is. There are just tons of fun facts about Uranus that have to be discovered. This is for certain.

It was Sir William Herschel who discovered the aforementioned planet. This happened around the year 1781. Ancients were not able to see Saturn because it was too dim during those times. At first, Herschel thought it was only a comet. However, after several years, he came to the confirmation that what he saw was actually a planet. This discovery was initially named Georgian Sidus. This was done after the late King George III. All the while, the term Uranus was came up with. This was originally suggested by Johann Bode who was an astronomer. The name originated from Ouranos – a deity of the ancient Greek.

Discovering Uranus More

Uranus will always turn on its axis every 17 hours and 14 minutes. This will have its retrograde direction which is always the opposite of Earth. This may also be in contrast with the way other planets do their turning. Uranus only gets to complete its full sun rotation after 84 years on Earth. There are points of it which may point straight on the Sun though. This would be the time when 42 years of sunlight may be realized too. The rest of the time, they will just experience darkness and nothing else.

It is not surprising that Uranus is dubbed as the ice planet. This may be synonymous to other gas giants available out there. It also goes with hydrogen. This is its upper layer. This is a mixed of helium. There is an icy mantle below it too. This is surrounded by ice core and rock. As for its upper atmosphere, it is composed of ammonia, water and as well as methane ice crystals. These are all responsible in giving the planet the bluer color it is well known for.

Uranus will always be the coldest planet in the solar system. Neptune does not have the ability to get close to the way Uranus gets it cold temperature. Most of the time, the upper atmosphere of the planet is enveloped with methane. This is a haze that takes charge in hiding the storms which usually happen in most cloud decks.

There are two sets of rings linked to Uranus. These are of thin set and there are those with dark color. These particles are just small. These may range from a dust-sized particle to a really small boulder. There are also inner rings which are eleven, and then outer rings which are two. These would form the moons of Uranus. These are just recently discovered with the aid of Hubble Space Telescope.